Corrupted Innocence
by white seraph
Summary: [BK OOC] Battousai is Katsura's prized assassin. He is given the opportunity to pick a geisha for the night, but unfortunately, the only one he chooses is the only one he cannot have. If money cannot buy her, do you think the powers of seduction can?
1. Chapter 1

OOC mainly with Kaoru's part.actually, no, it's only semi ooc, because Kaoru in the real RK can SOMETIMES be gentle and feminine :D  
  
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Corrupted Innocence : Chapter 1  
  
by white seraph  
  
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In the olden times of Japan, there was once a little, but busy district called Gion, or, the town of entertainment that sat right in Kyoto. The district was very distinguishable, and had different society of it's own from the rest of the world. It was also known as the Karyukai, or the flowery, willowy world, because it was a place where beautiful artists called the Geishas worked. They were like flowers, beautiful, but unique, and willowy because of their grace.  
  
There were several houses there, accommodating women who earned a living by using their bodies and skills to entertain customers. The houses provided these women all their basic needs, including food, bed, and more importantly, their kimonos and make up artists. They would prepare these women, and make sure they were perfect, before sending them to the teahouses where they worked at night to entertain customers, usually men. The teahouses, of course, always wanted to hire the most skilled and most beautiful geishas, and would pay the houses more so they would send them the better geishas, so this was how it went, the price of hiring these geishas vary a lot, and of course, the most sought after women were at the top. It was a world of business that sells the art of beauty.  
  
People visited for different reasons, varying from enhancing their status in society, to love, to the admiration of beauty, or merely for socializing.  
  
At the time when the Edo period was drawing to an end, the Karyukai was at its height, with hundreds women working for the teahouses that were all pact on the main street.  
  
And this is where our story begins.  
  
[A/N don't you just hate my introductions?!]  
  
"Kaoru! It's time to get out of bed dear." The voice of a mature woman woke the girl up.  
  
Kaoru scanned the small room, and met the eyes of an old woman, the mother of the house. She was very grateful that she was given a room of her own, and even if it was not as big as the make up room, at least she didn't have to sleep with everyone else in the room next door.  
  
"Good morning, Mama Okina" Kaoru greeted politely with a smile. Of course, the old lady was not her mother by blood, but as the successor of this house, Kaoru is, by name and law, the 'adopted' child. She didn't even know why exactly she was chosen to be the successor, she didn't even know why exactly she was here in first place. She vaguely remembered her mother, squatting so she was at eye level with her, cupping her small cold cheeks and promising her that one day, they would come back and take her home.  
  
Of course, as a young child, Kaoru didn't understand anything, all she knew was that her parents had taken her away from the big house they once lived in, and put her here. Of course she protested, but from the first day her real parents put her here, Mama Okina treated her like a princess, and the whole house accordingly, also treated her same. It was hard for Kaoru not to like it here, and soon she before she even knew it, Kaoru started calling this foreign place, home.  
  
Her parents often came to visit her, but as a little girl, she understood little about the world of the adults, about war, about death. As time passed, her parents came less frequently, and by the time she was seven, they stopped coming all together, and from that day on, Mama Okina made it official that she was the atotori, or the heiress of her house.  
  
As the heiress, Kaoru was given the best of everything; kimonos, ornaments, wooden sandals. Her wardrobe was indeed stunning, and none of it was shared with the rest of the house, she was even given the best make up artist that would come everyday from the other side of the town just to make her up. Now, now, do not be mistaken, of course there were those that envied the girl, who was showered with love and attention since the first day she stepped in here. But those were only the ones who did not know her well, for all those who knew her, found it hard to despise the girl. She was the most adorable girl one can ever meet, and weather entertaining customers or not, she was always carrying that cheerful, carefree smile, and spoke in that soft, quiet voice of hers.  
  
Now, it has been a decade after the last time she saw her parents, Kaoru vaguely remembered her parent's faces, to her; they were people of the past, people buried in her memories. But despite Kaoru's ill memory of them, her mother's voice, telling her that one day they would come back for her, never left her, and she often wondered if they had forgotten about her.  
  
"Kaoru!" Mama Okina's sudden voice broke the girl away from her morning haze, and then with a gentler tone she added "The Red Rose Teahouse booked for you tonight, remember?"  
  
"I thought I declined them." She replied briefly as she rolled her bed up.  
  
The old lady sighed. "Yes, I know, but the house insisted on your appearance, the Teahouse said Ikumatsu specifically wanted you to go." She tried to explain. It was how it worked, it was easy to turn an offer from the teahouses down, but it was disrespectful to turn the offer of another geisha down, especially one as popular and successful as Ikumastu. As a matter of fact, even she had no idea why they wanted Kaoru in particular. The woman was popular, and had shared parts with Kaoru quite a few times in the annual productions, that was how they came to be aquainted, but really, they were in different leagues, Ikumatsu was a mature, skilled geisha and much more popular and famous than Kaoru.  
  
The girl was only seventeen, and at the height of her beauty, and with her dazzling blue eyes, like jewels on her beautifully painted face and her graceful dances, Kaoru could easily win the major roles in annual dances. However, this was unfortunately, not the case. Kaoru was no famous geisha, despite her beauty and contribution toward the Karyukai, her popularity could only thrive to a very limited extent, because Mama Okina did not and would not accept any offers from those who wanted to buy her virginity. That meant she was in a limbo of some sort, unable to make her final debut as a full geisha because she was still a virgin, but already past the stage of apprenticeship.  
  
Kaoru didn't know weather to be relieved or not by her decisions, for it meant she was safe from having to share a bed with men she barely knew. But then again, the thought of earning so little money for the house because of this made her extremely guilty.  
  
[holy crap I just realized how much I suck in writing prose, it's like.. a quote, and then a whole chunk of description explaining nothing /.\]  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Himura Kenshin had just returned from a very important mission, successfully, and his boss, Katsura insisted they celebrated here tonight, but he knew, it was just Katsura's excuse to see geisha he was supporting perform. Himura Kenshin wasn't really interested in these elaborate women who sold their bodies through the seduction of beauty, in fact, he'd rather they quit the abundant, and irrelevant procedures and jump straight to bed. Not very romantic, but practical, but then again it wasn't as if he had for ever to let himself be entertained by these ignorant women when so much was happening outside this little secluded district that no one dares attack.  
  
"So, Himura, are there any geishas in particular that you would want to entertain you tonight?" asked as the women came in one by one, filling the room up by taking seats next to the men randomly..  
  
Or perhaps not so randomly, as most of the sat around Kenshin, abandoning the other men. It was too late for him to shook his head and tell Katsura he did not enjoy this sort of entertainment.  
  
Despite these women's enthusiasm, Himura Kenshin found it hard to appreciate any of them, being overly effusive and constantly trying to think of queer conversations that bore the hell out of him. He looked around, but all the other men in the room, including Katsura was unaware of his discomfort, they were too busy indulging themselves in this so called 'entertainment'  
  
However, being as impatient as any boy of his age would be, Kenshin could not stand it any longer, and abruptly stood up to excuse himself to the bathroom. If it wasn't for Katsura's sake, he swore, he would have killed these lovely birds, all of them, just to end they annoying giggles. Stomping out of the room, he walked down the staircase, to the farthest bathroom, on the other side of the teahouse to hide.  
  
Suddenly, he noticed a figure, flying up the parallel staircase on the other side of the room, as if someone was chasing her for her life. Kenshin was unable to see her face from the distance, but he had to admit, he was indeed awed, and definitely impressed by this geisha, with that small figure on those six-inch sandals and elaborate hair, still able to project immense energy and skills to run like a normal person. All the other geishas he had seen, were the most vulnerable, precious little birds that couldn't even run if their lives depended on it, and unfortunately, this did not give him the general image of a dainty, feminine figure, but just how pathetic they looked.  
  
Now, if only that geisha was called for, then he'd definitely ask her for the night, he smiled as the brief thought rolled across his mind.  
  
"Now sir! Will you excuse us for a moment, are you going up or down?!" An old woman, holding a dirty cloth asked. She was obviously one of the cleaners of the house, not in the least attractive. But he also realized how foolish he must have looked, standing in the middle of a staircase, staring at a geisha long gone out of sight.  
  
"I'm going down." He finally replied, and quickly hopped down the stairs to his destination, and he'd probably loiter around outside for a while. Anything to keep himself away from them for as long as possible would do. But then again, he didn't want to miss his favorite part of the night; when everyone gets drunk and the women finally get into some real entertainment.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Thank god Kaoru made it in time to the Red Rose Teahouse, huffing and puffing, the girl tried to do a last minute fix to her hair and dress before she dismissed her chaperone. It was getting dark, but the bright lights of the busy houses filled the dark streets with a yellowish glowing light.  
  
"Ah, you must be Kaoru" A middle-age woman, obviously the mistress of the teahouse came to greet the girl from the doorway on the second floor. "Come this way please" She lead Kaoru through the long corridor to a large room where geishas were already entertaining their guests. "Entertain them well." Was all the lady said before she quietly slipped away.  
  
Nearly everyone had their eyes set on Kaoru, and it indeed, made her feel uneasy. "Good evening" She smiled, and gave a shallow bow, before turning to slid the door shut. She scanned the room wondering if she had said or done anything wrong to win all this attention. Suddenly, her eyes caught a familiar face. Ikumatsu was sitting next to the man, whom Kaoru believed was the host of this party, since he was sitting in the middle.  
  
Sure enough, the woman came to her rescue, she walked and stood next to Kaoru, and then introduced her very formally to the rest of the people. "This is Kaoru, a friend I met in the annual dancing productions."  
  
Of course, Ikumatsu did not say that for nothing, to perform in the annual productions meant a lot, and by saying that, the people would be interested in her entertainment. She took the girl to sit next to her, and immediately people started conversations with her, including a other geishas whom Kaoru vaguely recognized. This was going to be a busy night, she knew.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Kaoru poured some warm alcohol, very skillfully and served it to the couple of men she was entertaining. One was a doctor, another was a businessman, both are good friends of the host, whom Kaoru learnt, was called Katsura.  
  
"Did you know that tea is good for your health?" The doctor said, as he stared at the small porcelain cup he was holding, as if it was a cup of tea.  
  
"Why, this is not a cup of tea, doctor. You must be drunk." Another geisha called Tomoe laughed jokingly. Kaoru had never heard of her name before this evening because, as soon told, Tomoe was a geisha that was from a house on the other side of the district, but came tonight because another geisha from her same house called Tamiko also came. She was also introduced to earlier that evening, but unlike Tomoe, the snobby geisha had turned her nose away and busied herself entertaining Katsura.  
  
The doctor smiled "I'm not drunk, I'm merely saying tea is good for your health."  
  
"Would you like me to get you some warm tea then?" Kaoru asked thoughtfully.  
  
But the man only chuckled "No, it's alright, I don't want a geisha like you to waste your time running down the corridors doing a servant's job."  
  
Kaoru was about to reply, when Ikumatsu's soft voice from behind caught her attention. "Would you like to come have a dance with me, Kaoru?" She asked. "My patron, Katsura would like to see you dance with me."  
  
* * * * * *  
  
The night was cold, and Himura Kenshin, wearing a one layered gi, loosely hanging over his shoulders as usual, found himself shivering in the middle of the dark streets, and unable to take it anymore, he finally surrendered for his health's sake, and quickly returned back to the teahouse.  
  
It was more crowded than before, and someone was performing on the semi stage. Taking his usual seat next to Katsura, he sat down to see the dance everyone was crowding around to see.  
  
"It's good you made it back in time, now come have some wine and enjoy the end of the dance." Katsura said as he poured the lad some warm wine. This boy was his most prized treasure, his weapon, and Kastura never underestimated him, and would do anything to keep him.  
  
But Himura Kenshin never touched the cup of wine Katsura poured for him. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the graceful figure on stage dancing. It was the geisha he had seen on the staircase earlier, and true to his assumptions she was indeed the loveliest creature he had set his eyes on, that exquisite little body bending gracefully in harmony with Ikumatsu. He was never really interested in these high class prostitutes they called geishas, sure they were fun to talk to, sure some were good to look at, and sure they were for him to release his sexual frustrations, but he had never met one as beautiful and graceful as this one, and now he was more than determined to have her.  
  
The dance had ended, and the dancers returned to their seats, but Kenshin still, couldn't tear his eyes away from her, and watched her conversing with a man whom he recognized as another of Katsura's messangers, called Iizuka.  
  
"Ah, it is indeed a rare case that Himura has found himself someone to look at, who may the lucky girl be?" Ikumatsu joked as she saw the boy who seemed so out of himself tonight, staring at the geishas on the other side of the room.  
  
"Who's that raven haired beauty over there?" He asked in reply, but still did not take his eye away from her.  
  
"You mean the girl that just danced with me?" Ikumatsu asked with a smile. She hadn't known the boy for a long time, but from what Katsura told her, he'd talk to them if they talked to him, he'd sleep with them if they seduced him, but he never he rarely showed interest to any geisha in particular.  
  
He nodded briefly so she replied, "Why, that's Kaoru you have your eyes on" she sipped some wine before continuing "How about I help you ask her over and introduce you to her properly?" And without waiting for his response, she left her seat and went to the other side of the room to bring the girl over.  
  
"Kaoru, I want you to meet a friend of mine, Himura Kenshin." Ikumatsu said as indicating a strange redheaded young man that Kaoru vaguely recall seeing earlier this evening. But he was still a customer nonetheless, and she had to treat him like one. So taking a seat next to him, she smiled. "Hello Mr. Himura." She said politely and offered to pour him some wine.  
  
"Please, Kenshin is fine" he insisted before taking a deep breath. For some reason, he felt uneasy and nervous. It wasn't as if it was his first talking to a geisha, but with her beautiful sapphire blue eyes, seductively innocent, locked to his own, it was nearly impossible to keep his lust for her in control.  
  
Now, Kaoru thought it was rather queer that this man was constantly staring at her. but didn't dare question him. "So, um.are you a friend of Mr. Katsura's?" She tried to start a conversation in vain, which was rather hard considering the fact that Ikumatsu had left them all alone in the corner, and that he wasn't really a very socialable person  
  
"I.." Kenshin hesitated to think briefly, and decided it was better not to reveal anything to her. "Yes, I'm a friend of his." He finally replied.  
  
Now Kaoru could no longer take it, this man's stare wasn't helping her concentrate on the conversation. "Is.is there something on my face?"  
  
"Yes" he breathed, as he could no longer resist the temptation and started tracing the contours of her soft cherry red lips with the tip of his fingers. "If there is anything on your face is would be beauty itself." He dropped his gaze from her eyes, and focused on her lips, which he saw, slowly press together, indicating her uneasiness.  
  
She flinched back, breaking away from his touch, she was rather.surprised by the answer, and found it hard to find an appropriate answer. Of course she was praised of being beautiful before, but it was somehow... different this time. "I.I." And then, she decided to drop the whole subject entirely. "How about I tell you a story?"  
  
Kenshin rolled his eyes, "No, forget about the story" she was the slowest girl he had ever met, it took him a lot of courage to start the subject off, and now she dropped it just like that, and go off to tell him some boring story that he was at the least interested in. Are geishas always like that? Never getting to the point until it was about time? Did she not know that he had absolutely no interest in this sort of entertainment?  
  
Of course Kaoru had no idea what this particular customer wanted of her, and found it hard to respond. "Oh..." She said, quickly thinking. "Then..um..what would you like to talk about?" She asked. Her conversations with customers did not usually go like that, but for some reason, this one was particularly hard to talk to, and there was a thick air of tension that divided her from him.  
  
"Lets talk about you" Kenshin replied in a low voice as he scooted over and closed the distance between them by snaking his arm around her waist.  
  
Kaoru furrowed her eyebrows, thinking him queer, but then again, some customers are sometimes interested in her life.so she very patiently tried to form a brief story line of her own life and was about to open her mouth to tell him of it when she suddenly found herself gagged by his kiss.  
  
Kaoru was absolutely horrified, and tried everything she could to get him away. But every effort made was futile, frustrated of her own weakness, and unable to protect herself from his violations, she felt the testament of her pain and hurt rolling down her cheeks, wetting her well painted face. But it was not enough to stop his hot lips from the unexpected violation, pressed hard to hers, his tongue exploring her mouth, abusing her innocence, as if it was out of unleashed desperate lust.  
  
However, Kenshin on the other hand, did not feel her hurt, all he felt was the erupting desires he could no longer control inside. It has been a long time since he found a woman that interested him the way this one did, and from the first moment he saw her on the stair case, that little energetic figure, he knew she would be one who could make him feel the way he was feeling now. He wanted her soft little body under his so badly that there would be nothing that can deny him of her, nothing. "I'm .definitely going to. make arrangements to spend a night.with you" He said between kisses.  
  
Or so he thought. Blinded by his own indulge, of course Kenshin did not notice the tears, the small hands trying to push his chest away, the unresponsive lips. And it wasn't until he felt an unexpected crack on his cheek that he realized his passion and desires were not mutual.  
  
Kaoru really didn't want to do this, after all, he was a customer and it was her job to make sure he enjoyed his time here, but if she didn't slap him, god knows what would have happened to her. "Excuse me sir," She said, still unable to control the tears rolling down her face, smearing the make up. "But my body is not for sale. Now will you please excuse me." She said before pushing herself up and left the room quickly.  
  
Everyone looked surprised at what just happened, but Kenshin didn't care. Any embarrassment he had was overwritten by the disappointment. Breathing hard he still felt her soft lips on his own, it had happened so suddenly that he could hardly accept it. Closing his eyes, Kenshin felt his heart sink at the deprivation.  
  
People resumed back to their conversations after the silent response from Kenshin, but Ikumatsu sighed, as she saw the disappointment written all over the poor lad's face, and went to comfort him. "Now, Himura, Kaoru was only one of the many geishas around, can't you just forget about her, and enjoy the rest of your night here with us?" She took Kaoru's seat next to him.  
  
"I don't understand." He said allusively. "Why is it that the only woman I want had to be the only one Icould not have?"  
  
Ikumatsu sighed, understanding what he meant. "Well.Kaoru isn't really a mature geisha, though she has gone far past the required minimum age." She explained. "For some unknown reason, the mother of her house has not sold Kaoru's virginity yet, and so tradition wise, she isn't qualified to sleep with her customers."  
  
"So.. they didn't sell her virginity because she doesn't have one anymore?" He asked.  
  
"Well" She took a deep breath "I'm not sure." Ikumatsu finished off.  
  
"If I can't buy her for a night like this, I'm sure I can always find other ways." He said, giving himself a light of hope. This Kaoru probably has an illicit affair with another man, and if that's really the case, if another man can seduce her, then Kenshin was sure, he can, too. 


	2. Chapter 2

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Corrupted Innocence: Chapter 2  
  
by white seraph  
  
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Kaoru ran as fast as her legs could take her body, not caring if people on the streets were staring at her outrageous actions. She new and expected Ikumatsu or the lady of that tea house to drop a 'visit' the next day, in demand for her explanations, but Kaoru didn't care, or at least just for now. The cold wind was scraping mercilessly on her face, and by the time she was at the doors of her own house, the poor girl was already shivering.  
  
Dragging herself past the corridor that lead her to the inner walls of the house, she ignored the servant's greetings, and the other geishas' questioning eyes, and went straight to her own room, shutting herself away from the rest of the world through that thin door before she allowed herself to collapse and burst into tears.  
  
[yes I'm sure she's not over reacting cos I know how it feels to be touched without permission, so shut it if you're about to drop a flame]  
  
And after what seemed an eternity, when Kaoru could no longer feel the tears on her check, the door creaked open, and there was a crack of light, and as of expected, when Kaoru looked up, she saw the old lady's bending figure approaching her and very casually taking a seat next to her. "My lovely Kaoru," Mama Okina's soft warm voice started as she stroked the girl's back. "I'm not going to ask you why you are back so early, or what happened. I just want to know if you feel alright now, after half a night by yourself."  
  
Kaoru nodded without facing her.  
  
"Now you know how everyone here cares about you, all the others, even snobby Yumi were asking if you were alright" the old woman continued. It was a lie, not that no one cared, because they did, but that she actually wanted to know what happened to the girl. But of course, seeing her in such a miserable state, she did not want the girl to recall what happened again. It was best to drop a visit by the Red Rose Tea house tomorrow to ask. Right now, the most important thing was to make sure the poor girl was alright, after all, she was the special girl here.  
  
The old woman, never failing to comfort people, once again proved herself omnipotent at the case, for Kaoru chuckled softly "Yumi? I never thought even you'd call her snobby Yumi behind her back"  
  
Yumi was one of more popular geishas in the house, and because of her fame, she also earned a reputation of being the arrogant, snobby one who thought herself so beautiful and the rest ugly. Kaoru knew the geisha never really liked her because the only reason why she wasn't the heiress of this house was because Kaoru already was assigned the title before she came along.  
  
But despite the grudge, they sometimes talked, especially when all the others were gone to entertain some tea houses that particular evening, leaving the odd two awkwardly dining with Mama Okina.  
  
[omg i can't believe I did it again!.-,-]  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Kenshin had a rather restless, but boring night with a substitute geisha, and though she was more than willing to spend her night with him, the pleasures were not mutual, for he, as of expected, was unable to dismiss the thoughts of that Kaoru girl, and for the entire night, felt rather guilty that he was working against his mind, to bed with someone he did had no desires for.  
  
And of course, when morning came, Ikumatsu was not surprised to see the young man creeping up to her, demanding for her to see Kaoru again. He was, just as ignorant as he looked; he really thought a request to see a geisha was just like an assignment to kill someone, so Ikumatsu, being the gentle, patient woman she was, took her time, and explained him through all the reasons why it wasn't as easy as he thought.  
  
"Obviously, Kaoru left early because you went over the top." Ikumatsu said, trying hard not to hurt his feelings, though she doubt he had any. "And I must say, after yesterday night, if I were Kaoru, I wouldn't even dare come to another tea party knowing you would be there."  
  
"How am I supposed to know what goes on in you women's head." He said gruffly, it was indeed, a rather frustrating experience he was going through. As far as he was concerned, women are playthings, living for the sake of men such as himself, so far, all the ones he had come across had proven his hypothesis right, but now, for the first time, he had come across something he wanted, but cannot have, and he blamed it entirely on the nature of women and something people called virtue.  
  
Ikumatsu sighed. She understood that although he was only a lad, for the first time going through the deprivation of something he wanted, like a child sulking, but he was also one of Katsura's most important men, and she knew, whatever price it would cost, that they would have to please this young man's heart in order for him to stay and continue with his job. "Well, why does it have to be Kaoru and only?" She finally spoke up, "I know she may be lovely to look at, but there are also many others who are just as beautiful as her." She knew wasn't a close friend of Kaoru's but she was well acquainted enough to understand that the girl simply, was out of Kenshin's reach, and it would be wise for him to stop with his pursue now, before anything disastrous happens.  
  
"If that worked, then I wouldn't have come to see you this morning." He replied bluntly.  
  
She gave him a lopsided smile, looking rather helpless. "Alright, I'll try to as the mistress of her house if she could attend a party tomorrow night, at the teahouse on the opposite of my house." Ikumatsu pursed her lips, and didn't say more, because she knew the chance of her coming would be very small.  
  
But at that, Kenshin instantly smiled, and gave Ikumatsu a playful kiss on the cheek, as a sign of appreciation and left.  
  
As soon as he left, Ikumatsu heard someone else call for her downstairs. She suddenly remembered, today they would be given their casts for the spring dance, and she had to be there before lunch. Thank the lord her make up artist came exceptionally early this morning, and had her made up already.  
  
"Alright, I'll be down in a moment" She quickly responded before putting a coat on.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
In the entire house of more than fifteen geishas, the only ones who dared to go try out for the spring production were Kaoru, Yumi and Misao, Kaoru of course because dancing was her own expertise, her only way in stretching her fame as far out as possible, Yumi because of her obvious obligations as a popular geisha, and Misao, for the sake of impressing this mysterious man that Kaoru had never heard of, called Aoshi.  
  
Now Yumi had left early, just before breakfast, off to somewhere she did not say, but by the time the sun was high up, and all the geishas were starting to busy themselves with their make up and attires that it was clear she would not be going to the casting congregation with the other two.  
  
"It's okay, it's better to go without Yumi than be late." The old woman said, and ordered the two girls to go now.  
  
"Oooh, that's a new Kimono you're wearing, isn't it?" Misao poked the ssilky pink fabric on Kaoru. She was rather late in starting her career, and at the age of sixteen, was still but an apprentice, and because Kaoru was the only other geisha in her house of the same age, she had become quite close to her despite the fact that they never attended the same teahouses, or entertained the same people.  
  
"This one?" Kaoru put an arm up, examining the patterns on her sleeves. "No, I don't think so, it's just a very, very old kimono I found behind the closets, and decided to wear it for today." She smiled cheerfully, as if proud of it.  
  
"Wow, it looks just like new to me!" Misao replied with enthusiasm, as if it was magic that this kimono still looked new. Of course, she was amazed, for it was plain obvious, from the mundane days we see of her, the way she treats kimonos, wearing them as if they were ordinary clothes, not caring if she spilt anything on them.  
  
Kaoru gave her a broad smile, but did not say anything.  
  
"Hey hey, so what exactly happened yesterday evening, I thought you were going to Red Rose Teahouse to entertain some people." Misao, being the curious little girl she was, did not realize she had just touched on a rather sensitive subject.  
  
"I." Kaoru didn't really want to talk about it, as she thought it was a rather embarrassing subject. "Nothing I'd want to talk about." She finally decided to keep it all to herself.  
  
But Misao was a little more obstinate today, and determined to find out, she pressed again "No, really, what happened, why did you look so angry and sad?" She chirped again.  
  
"Because something bad happened" Kaoru said allusively, and turned her face away from the girl, not wanting anyone to see her teary eyes.  
  
"Oh.." Misao immediately quiet down, as if she realized she had hit a sensitive subject that Kaoru would not like to talk about, but now after a while, the itching curiosity came back, and she couldn't have her heart settled without finding out. "But.would you like to talk about it? Were you being bullied by some older geishas?!" She guessed.  
  
Kaoru sighed, the girl was not going to stop with her questioning until she had told her what happened. "Misao, have you ever been kissed before? By a stranger you barely know?"  
  
"What?" Misao looked confused. "No, and no" She replied truthfully.  
  
"Nevermind then." She said, giving Misao a reassuring smile.  
  
The younger pursed her lips, she finally understood what happened, and immediately felt guilty for asking. Stupid girl, should have realized that when Kaoru said she didn't want to talk about it! Misao silently chastised herself.  
  
It was awkwardly silent now, and tension was in the air, despite the loud noise from the busy street. Thankfully, they were nearly there, and Misao's excitement soon overrode her guilt. There were a lot of people, geishas, audiences, organizers, and sure enough, out of the crowd, the girls soon spotted Yumi, with that weird looking patron of hers, the one with bandage all over.  
  
[yeah yeah I know what you're gonna say but this is an alternate timeline fic so shishio would be in]  
  
Misao was about to go greet Yumi, when she was suddenly pulled back by Kaoru. She yanked Misao in front of her, as if trying to shield herself from something. "What.What's wrong?" Misao asked, utterly confused by Kaoru's actions.  
  
But it was too late. She saw them.  
  
"Why, You also auditioned for this year's spring production?" Ikumatsu said as she approached them, and Misao, upon seeing Kaoru's expression, understood that this was the woman she was trying to avoid. But.wait, was she the stranger who tried to kiss her?!  
  
But before she could speak up, Kaoru already responded. "Yes, I thought you knew I participate in nearly all dance productions."  
  
Another man, Kaoru recognized to be the host of last night's party, Katsura appeared from behind Ikumatsu. He showed some sign of recognition, and Kaoru bowed, showing her respects to the man.  
  
"Well we really have to be going now" Kaoru lied. She wasn't really in a rush to anywhere, but she didn't want them to ask her to entertain for their parties again, and in order to avoid so, she did what she did, and excused herself before their conversation could go any further.  
  
As Kaoru guessed, as soon as she left, Katsura spoke. "That's the girl he wants, isn't it? It seems like she doesn't want to talk to us"  
  
Ikumatsu sighed. It's not 'seems like' it's blatant and obvious. She didn't understand why the young lad would be fussing all over a girl he barely even knew, there wasn't a chance that she would want to seem him ever again, it was plain obvious and clear that she wanted to avoid the couple, and thank the lord that the boy was not here, or it would have shattered his ego if he knew the girl had no apparent interest in him whatsoever.  
  
Ikumatsu didn't have to say more, the chief organizer had himself seated at the centre, ready to announce the long list of chosen participants, people were quieting down, and the rows of seats were filling up rapidly.  
  
After a frustratingly long time, when nearly everyone found a seat, one of the men finaly stood, and started the assembly with a brief introduction, thanking all those who auditioned and blah blah..  
  
This year's spring production was going to have four main dancers, each representing a sister of the family in which the production would be revolving around. It was a rather big one, considering the number of main characters available, and the time given to prepare it. But Ikumatsu could have guessed, since it was exceptionally early for them to cast characters.  
  
Finally, after a long half hour announcing names for small parts, the moment came, when the man started announcing the lucky few who were chosen, after an arduous time picking and choosing. Ikumatsu closed her eyes, silently praying he would call her name, for if he did not, it would mean she failed to enter the entire production at all.  
  
"The four geishas chosen this year are," The man must have had an exceptionally loud and clear voice in order to deliver his speech to every corner of the large room. "Yumi [her last name I forgot ^^"] as Sadako Iwasaki" He paused for a breath that seemed like eternity for her. "Ikumatsu [I don't know her last name!] as Rumiko Iwasaki" Katsura gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, and smiled, but quickly turned his attention back to the man on stage when he continued. "Tomoe Yukishiro as Yaeko Iwasaki, and Kaoru Kamiya as Nuriko Iwasaki" He finished with one breath.  
  
Ikumatsu was happy she got in, but what's more, now that Kaoru was her partner once again, it meant the boy would have a lot more chances to see her, if he would come watch her rehearse. She was deep in her thoughts and unaware that people were leaving now, and it wasn't until Katsura tapped her on the shoulder that she realized nearly half the people were already gone, off to the lunch the organizers of the production set up.  
  
A hand pulled her back. "If the lunch isn't that important, do you think you can come with me to find this Kaoru's mistress, to see if we can hire her for a night?" Kastura spoke quietly despite the loud noise around. He had enough experience around the place to understand basic rules. It always worked, to find the mistress of a geisha if nothing else worked, since they, in sense, had the power to command these women.  
  
Ikumatsu sighed. "Well I guess impressing that young man is more important than lunch."  
  
"The sooner we get there, the sooner we get things settled, the sooner I take you to tea alright?" He replied, smiling.  
  
She nodded, "If my memory is correct, then Kaoru's house should be one a street away, and it wouldn't take us long to get there." She had been to the girl's house a few times, especially last year when the two were both training for the same parts, because they rehersed till very late at night, Ikumatsu would just drop by Kaoru's to stay for a night, but leave before dawn.  
  
And sure enough, there Kaoru's house was, still with the same, distinguishing green roof.  
  
"We'd like to see the mistress of this house" Ikumatsu told the servant girl who was by the door arranging the geisha's shoes.  
  
The girl seemed surprise at the guests, but did not hesitate to call Mama Okina, who immediately popped out of one of the rooms from the corridors at hearing the servant talking to two foreign voices.  
  
"How may I help you?" The old lady asked, though seeing Ikumatsu's face she knew it would have to do with Kaoru. The women in the Red Rose Teahouse told her the story in bits and pieces, but she was able to put these pieces together, and came to understand what happened yesterday night. "Serve the guests some tea" She told the servant before taking the two into the room to take a seat.  
  
As soon as the girl came back with some hot tea, Ikumatsu spoke up. "We come here today to talk about Kaoru."  
  
"I know," The old woman smiled "I know"  
  
Ikumatsu hesitated at that. She knew? "Well we are aware that Kaoru is not yet conceded her full debut as a geisha despite her age, because she has not had her mizuage [i.e. she' still a virgin] yet.  
  
"I see" The old lady drank some tea. She knew they would come for something along those lines, and they were not the first ones, so she knew very well, how to deal with them.  
  
Ikumatsu gave her patron a glance, and he nodded, as if understanding her silence. "Well, I'll get to the point. What we want is to buy Kaoru's virginity, you name a price." [who here has read memoirs of a geisha?]  
  
"I'm sorry, but Kaoru is not for sale, not for any given price" The woman replied regrettably. "For personal reasons" She added.  
  
"Because the commodity simply isn't there to be sold?" Katsura couldn't help but ask, despite knowing how rude it was.  
  
"No, the girl is still as pure as crystal."  
  
Katsura, seemed to understand, and graciously said. "Very well then, I suppose I have no reason to stay here anymore. Thank you for the tea."  
  
* * * * * *  
  
After they left, Ikumatsu finally spoke her mind. "Really, Katsura, I don't understand why you have to please the boy like that, he's got to learn to accept the fact that not everything in this world is under his command." She shook her head, distressed. "Why can't you just leave the case to himself?"  
  
He sighed, squeezing her hand. "It's not as easy as you think, I don't want the boy to end up killing the whole house of geishas, it would cause quite some commotion, and would definitely ruin my plans."  
  
"Well as long as it doesn't cost any lives, can't we just let him get what he wants himself?" Katsura was acting even more protective than a father now, and she didn't like it one bit.  
  
[A/N got I'm tired, sorry I really have to stop it here, or it'll go on forever and ever]  
  
If you want to join my mailing list (applies for all stories, unfortunately) then drop your mail in a review :D  
  
next time: er.haven't really thought of that yet, but Katsura's gonna have a talk with kenshin, and ikumatsu ends up going to the dance rehearsal with kenshin, and he sees Kaoru there and w00t! another seduction scene YAY. *mwah all the sweethearts who reviewed* 


	3. Chapter 3

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Corrupted Innocence: Chapter 3  
by white seraph  
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WARNING: a little lime ahead!

Kenshin felt an unexpected feeling of joy when he saw Katsura and Ikumatsu returning from the window of his own room in the lodge, and immediately rushed down to greet the couple. "Did.." He panted, taking his breath "Did you see the girl?" 

"I'm sorry to tell you – " Ikumatsu wanted to tell the boy that they , could and would no longer help him with his stubborn pursue, and that he should simply give up, because the girl was clearly, out of his reach. She was simply not one for him. 

But before he could deliver his thoughts, Katsura cut in. "Yes, my boy, we are terribly sorry we couldn't find the girl today" He gave the woman a brief glare indicating for her to silence herself. "Besides, Himura, I think it is time you cut this out, I'm leaving Kyoto tomorrow morning, and hopefully, by the time I come back, I will have retrieved enough information for out next mission." He said more quietly, not wanting others to hear them. "And for the time being, I don't want you to loose yourself in the besot of that girl, and I absolutely don't want to come back being told you've fallen in love with her" Katsura put his grip on the boy's shoulder before letting go and turning to leave. 

But Kenshin quickly pulled his arm. "I am not besotted with the girl, and am certainly not in love with her." His voice was quiet and low. "All I want is a night with her, and when I'm done, I promise, she will be discarded and never shall I want to see her ever again." 

Now that that brought Katsura right to his point. "Then I suppose any girl can satisfy your desires for that case, why does it have to be her in particular, when you know she's not one on the shelf." He didn't wait for him to reply, which Kenshin did silently thank him for, "Anyway, as I said, I will be out of town for a week or so, now I need to prepare for a bit." He said, entering his room, and sliding it shut in front of Kenshin's face. 

Now Ikumatsu saw the whole scene quietly, judging it with her personal autonomy, and disregarding her status, she did not like the way her patron dealt with the boy, and couldn't help but feel sorry for him. She had her own plans, but did not implement on them until the following morning, after she had sent Katsura off, out of town. 

However, despite her eagerness, Kenshin did no make an appearance until the sun was high up. Apparently, unbeknownst to anyone else, he had been laying on his futon, staring at the ceiling boringly thinking through his every thought about this Kaoru girl. How many times did he fantasize himself kissing her? how many times did he fantasize himself on top of her soft, petite body? 

It was certainly not love, since he barely knew her, but the lust was blatantly there, the admiration…the yearn to …to know her. That's right. He wanted to, acquaint himself with her, not just physically, but emotionally too, he wanted to know why she would cried, why she smiled, everything about her. "By god…." He whispered, after loosing himself in his own thoughts, and coming to a conclusion "I think I really am infatuated with a girl I barely know …." But he was also sure, this infatuation was solely motivated by his lust for her, and that if it was relieved, then his infatuation would die, and he would no longer have to lay awake in the darkest hours, fantasizing about her.

There wasn't anything he could do about it now, he half hated himself for allowing his own emotions to control himself, for allowing himself to have any feeling of the sort at all, and half hated the girl for not giving him what he wanted. All he could do is try to dismiss her from his mind, which he had tried the past two days, and had proven himself a failure to it. 

By the time he finally decided to pull himself out of bed, breakfast was already cleared, and the lodge was half empty now. Kenshin sighed inwardly, that's what he did not like about days like these, when his boss was gone, and half the other messengers and spies were either too busy doing their own business, or too afraid to talk to him. There simply wasn't anything to do. 

"Ah, Himura, there you are." Ikumatsu's voice said from somewhere. He scanned the room, and saw her coming from the corridor. "I've been trying to find you all morning!"

"What is the matter?" He sat up at the empty diner. 

Ikuamtsu took a seat next to him. "Well, you see, I'm going to rehearse for my dance production today, would you care to come with me?" She saw his unconvincing face, but did not want to give away her true motive. "Don't worry, if you are not the type who enjoys watching dances, you can go to the backstage, I should be there." That wasn't really a lie, she was going to be there…but only at breaks, which she thinks she won't have any today.

"I suppose…." He said, thinking "I don't have anything to do here anyway."

The woman smiled. "Oh you're such a sweetheart, my make up artist is going to dress me up now, I'll be down soon, alright?" With that, she left, hurriedly, leaving him bored and alone in the room. 

People came through occasionally, but did not dare to even look at him. Dammit, that's what he hated about them, just because he was the group's official assassin did not mean he'd kill anyone who looked at him. The only ones who seemed to grasp this concept were Katsura, Ikumatsu and Iizuka. But even that perverted messenger is no where to be seen this morning. But his boredom was soon relieved when Ikumatsu returned, dressed nicely, but her face was not as elaborately decorated as before. "Lets get going now, we don't want to be late." She told the boy, and the two hopped onto a carriage that waited for them outside the lodge.

The hall was big, but not even half as crowded as he expected. There were quite a few other men who Kenshin guessed, probably came by the same purpose as he did. Ikumatsu left him by the entrance behind several rows of empty seats, and went off to somewhere before he could even ask her where the backstage was. He took a seat at the very back row, and watched as the rehearsal began. It was so obvious that this dance was not even half ripe, for he only saw two women on the stage, one whom he remembered vaguely from the night before; they were probably playing the crucial parts, like Ikumatsu, that's why they were one of the very few who appeared today. 

Then, his heart clenched with excitement, when a very familiar looking girl appeared in the scene, and like the other two, he did not understand a thing happening on stage, did not understand what the couches were yelling over, did not understand why they were trying to mimic the dancers' movements, all he saw was her graceful body, bending like a willow, her arm extended, holding a fan. She did not seem to notice his presence, too concentrated with the dance. How very cute, he chuckled quietly at that thought. Kenshin was too busy studying her every single movement, that he did not know how long he must have sat there, staring, and it was only until she made an abrupt bow to the couches, and left behind the curtains that he realized everybody else had left, and it was only Ikumatsu and the other geisha he did not recognize, on stage. 

The desire to stay and watch left, so Kenshin stood, and made a quiet exit. Where could the girl be now? He walked through the empty corridor, looking through every room to find her, and finally, he reached the last room, to behind the curtains, and still, to his utter disappointment, she was no where to be seen. 

Then, he saw the geisha he had seen on stage previously, walking his way, and past him back onto the stage. "Excuse me" He quickly spoke up before she got to the curtains. "Do you know where…where Kaoru is?" He asked, silently hoping she would know who he was talking about, silently hoping she would now where she was. 

"Why, yes I do, she is in the dressing room, it's over on the other side" She pointed at the door on the other side of the empty backstage, with that, she nodded, and turned back to make an appearance on the stage before he could thank her for the help.

So he half glided behind the curtains, not wanting to disturb the rehearsal. Kenshin couldn't help but smile, knowing she would be there, his prey. 

As he approached the door, voices in the room became audible. He head a spirited voice, giggling happily, and from his memory, Kenshin knew it belonged to Kaoru. But who was she talking to? His question was answered when a male voice said "Well, well, it was nice talking to you, my sister is out performing now. I'll see you later." The door slid open abruptly, and Kenshin found himself face to face with a tall white haired man. The man gave him a shallow bow, and left, leaving Kenshin, both jealous and happy. 

Jealous because he quickly assumed that this man was her lover, and happy because he finally left her alone, with him that is.

He slid the door shut quietly, and flipped the peg over to lock it. "Well, well, look what we have here" He smiled devilishly, surprising the girl, who quickly turned her head around and was even more surprised when she saw him. 

Weather her fear was well concealed, or that he simply could not read her expression was unknown, but he approached her nonetheless.

"What…What do you ..want?" Kaoru quickly picked herself up, and flew to the other side of the room, not wanting him anywhere near her, fearing he would do the forbidden, fearing he would hurt her.

"Why, I feel I have said this before, I want you." He replied giving her a self confident smirk, and at a blink, Kaoru found him next to her, pinning her against the wall, she did not know how he got to her, how he could be so strong, how he could so sinister. 

Once again, Kenshin let his desires go wild and out of control, he let his hand roam down her shoulder, to her chest, and eagerly pushed his hand into the slit of her kimono to feel the soft silky skin under, not caring if he wrecked her extravagant attires at all. 

But despite her defenseless body, Kaoru was not giving up, and pursed her lips, tightly shut, not wanting him to kiss her again, and no matter how many times he licked her lips, coaxing for her to open up, she still did not compile. 

But soon, his patience wore out, and Kaoru's efforts were proven futile under his forceful strength. Grabbing her chin by his other hand, he gently, but firmly pulled her jaw down, forcing her mouth open. "No one can ever deny me what I want." Kenshin said lowly, before dipping to taste her warm lips. He could no longer hold his desires back, and pressed his own lips roughly onto hers, once more exploring her sweet mouth, this time more aggressively. Kenshin never knew his lust could be evoked to such an extent, he never knew how such wispy girl like her could drive his desires to uncontrollable limits, all he knew was this feeling was wonderful. 

As of expected, this girl was just as easy to seduce as any others. No matter how cold she tried to look, she wanted him, and the feeling of her arms snaking around his neck, pulling him closer to her proved his thoughts right. 

Closing his eyes, Kenshin relished the wonderful sensation of having her soft, submissive and wanting body under him. This was a fantastic reality, this was what he wanted from the first moment he saw her, or was it?

Completely caught off guard, Kenshin was surprised to feel the sudden pain in the groin, and it wasn't until Kaoru pushed him away, and ran to the other side of the room to the door,, not caring if her kimono was sliding off her bare shoulders, that he realized what had happened. Apparently, he thought wrong. The girl was smart, and caught him off guard by acting a little. What a cunning wench. Is she planning to escape just like that? Kenshin never knew he could use his assassin skills this way. With god like speed, he rushed to the door before the girl could get there. "I'm not going to let you off that easily, sweetheart." He said, grabbing her arm, and roughly pushing her onto one of the dressing tables. 

"What..is" Kaoru didn't manage to finish her "what is wrong with you" sentence, for she found herself once again pinned down on the table, and the crazy man's lips once more on her own. Turning her head to the side, she her lips away from his, but in a position like this, she found it hard to defend herself. 

Whilst she was busy thinking of was to escape, Kenshin was busy trying to rid the frustrating kimono in his way. If would have drawn his sword and shredded the annoying fabric, but he did not want to scare the girl. Finally, his hand managed to reach her inner thighs, and stroked the wet silky skin before slipping into her. "Oh God…" He nuzzled and breathed into her neck. She was so soft, so hot, so tight, and dammit, he wanted her so badly that he could feel his groins tightening to painful limits. It was hard to believe she wasn't the innocent girl she looked like…

"Is…Is this what you like to do? To rape and hurt people just for the sake of fulfilling your own desires?" Kaoru asked hesitantly. Oh, how much his man disgusted her, she'd never forgive him for this..never. 

Kaoru didn't know how lucky she was, didn't know how her question affected him. But he instantly shrank away, retreating. The girl was right. What had he done? What on earth ad he done? No matter how much he wanted her, Kenshin was definitely not the type who would force a girl to something like this, more importantly, the thought of having her hate him as unbearable. What happened to his earlier muses, about wanting to learn to know her? Great start there. "I…I'm terribly sorry, I had no idea what came to me…I.. " He tried to explain, hoping the girl would believe him. "I was completely lost in my own desires." 

Kaoru was still very angry, she was in fact, boiling with immense anger and hated, for what he did, and how he easily dismisses it. But as she looked him right in the eye, and saw the genuine remorse in them, she couldn't help but forgive him, and as a geisha, she simply could not let her anger out on anyone. "This time you are forgiven, but don't expect there to be a next time." She said firmly, pulling her kimono back up, covering her shoulders loosely, "Now will you excuse me" She finished off and left the room. Leaving Kenshin quietly lamenting himself. 

**NEXT TIME: SORRY GIRLIES AND BABIES! I have no idea what to write next please feed me with ideas T.T please please please . or I will have nothing t update one ****L******


	4. Chapter 4

o_O wow I expected alotta flames from people…when I was clicking the e-mails open I was like *please don't let it be a flame* . thank god I didn't receive any..at least the offended had the decency to walk away from the story without discouraging me YAY I love you all, including those who don't like it *mwah*

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Corrupted Innocence: Chapter 4

  
by white seraph

  
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More than a week has pasted after that incident, and it seemed to fade away from Kaoru's mind, buried by the busy events that seem to come like waves, one after another. It wasn't just the dance production, at least not anymore. Kaoru was one of the very few chosen to model for a successful kimono chain, and will need to take time out for artists to paint her pictures before sending them out on display. All she hoped for, was that fortune will be on her side, and she won't ever bump into that rude, perverted young man ever again.

On the contrary to Kaoru's busy life, however, Kenshin was living through the most boring week of his life. After the embaressing incident, Ikumatsu stopped taking him to her rehearsals all together, and for the rest of the week, she had unknowingly, left him musing around the lodge, thinking over and over again of what she told him. 

Ikumatsu had finally told him, after she was reported of his despicable deeds, about her visit to Kaoru's house before, and she told Kenshin of their conversation; that the girl was in fact, as innocent as she looked, that from the very start, she was put on the highest shelf, out of reach for anyone. he had come to understand, come to realize everything, and lamented himself for his idiocy in forcing himself to seduce her when it was blatant and apparent from the very start that it would no work because she was a different type of woman that he was not accustomed to. 

But quite unfortunately, this did not dampen his feelings for her at all, instead, the genuine innocence in the girl only made her the more appealing. Kenshin both wanted, and not wanted to see her, for now he knew he could never have her, unless by force of course, but that was out of the question. He did briefly think about being her patron, like Katsura with Ikumatsu, so he could spend his time getting acquainted with her, even if she would not bed with him. It wasn't that it didn't' matter, it did, of course it did, but Kenshin would take his time. If it meant her good, then he would.

What was he thinking? The thought of the latter had struck him right there. He had never put other people's thoughts before his own, or at last not anymore. But this was the second time now. First time, behind the stage, he had pulled himself away from the pleasure that was only one inch away, going against his own wills of desire, and putting himself in the pain of the deprivation. And why? For the bloody sake of a girl he didn't even know, and now he is meaning to spend his time, effort and patience, all for the sake of getting acquainted with her?

Kenshin sighed. This was crazy, it really was. He concluded that the reason he was letting his mind drift away was because he had nothing to do. There was simply too much time to spare for him to think about girls. Kenshin sat up straight, from is slouched figure. He was resolute in putting any thoughts of this girl out of his mind, it was driving him insane. 

As if trying to prove to himself of his resolution, Kenshin decided he would drop by the rehearsal hall, where he knew Ikumatsu and others would be practicing at this time of the hour. He would prove to himself that he could control himself. He would not let stupid emotions take over, would not let that girl he barely knew conquer him.

The road was easy to recognize, and Kenshin had no problems in getting to the building, The sun was sinking behind the hills, and day was turning into night, but despite the time, the hall was more crowded than the first time he went there, and there were more people on stage than before, including Ikumatsu.

But still no sign of Kaoru.

Kenshin felt the tugging temptation of popping to the backstage to see if she was there, but that wasn't the point of him being here. He had promised himself that he would dismiss any thought of the girl, but here he was standing there, having doubts if he should find her. He sat down at a seat on one of the empty rows, finalizing his decision to stay and forget about the girl.

He did not understand the dance; all he was able to comprehend was the physical movements, accompanied by poignant music. Unfortunately, throughout the whole dance, Kaoru had not appeared, and it wasn't until the dance was nearly over, and everyone was leaving, when he himself was going to leave, too, he spotted her at the front yard, outside the hall, talking to the white haired man whom he recognized from the week before. At that sight, Kenshin immediately forgot about his resolution, as he seethed with jealousy. 

Although now he realized that they were not the kind of couple that he initially thought they were; that there was nothing between them more than a piece of innocent friendship, Kenshin still couldn't help but feel his heart clench with jealousy, as he saw from a distant, the two standing at the side of the gates, face to face chatting happily, as if they had no intention in ever parting. 

Kenshin's eyes narrowed with seething jealousy as Kaoru turned, and he saw the broad smile on her face, smiling cheerfully. It was an expression he had never seen from her, and expression he could never bring out from her. 

The lights in the hall went out, and most of the people were already gone, including Ikumatsu, whom Kenshin had seen from a distance, who left with her other friends, but the two were still there, chatting away as if they were in their own world. Kenshin stretched his neck, and strained his ears trying to hear their conversation. But he was too far away. Hiding behind the wooden fencing, he could only stare from the distance. 

Finally! The white an turned to leave, walking away in the opposite direction. He felt the urge to follow her, although he knew there was no purpose at all in his foolish behavior, yet somehow, out of irrational desire, he wanted to, just for the sake of whatever. 

It was both fortunate and unfortunate that he followed.

The street was cold, and the moonlight was flooding the stony ground, with occasional dim yellowy light provided by the lights from street lamps, and closed down shops. He followed her form a fair distance, making sure the girl would not notice his presence. [yes basically, he's stalking her lol]

Kenshin watched as she turned down to the dim corridors of the quieter streets, alone. And it did not occur to him that it was in fact, dangerous for a girl, as attractive as her to walk all alone in the deserted streets in such a late hour, at least not until it really happened. 

At first, Kenshin did not only thought they were people, acquainted with her, and only approached the girl to greet her. They were a group of men, all circling around Kaoru, blocking her from his view. 

He had no idea they were not acquainted, no idea that how they attempted to touch her the way he did before, no idea how they pushed her around, hurting her physically. 

It wasn't until his impatience and curiosity drew him closer to the group that he realized how wrong he was to assume that they were as innocent as they did not look. It wasn't until he heard the girl's shriek that he realized what was happening. Kenshin's felt the anger rushing through his veins, he was so angry, that it did not occur to him that his actions were no better than these men's. All he saw was the immorality and how degrading these men were. 

He needed to justify their actions, needed to save girl, needed to set her the heroic image of himself. Or a least what he perceived as heroic and justifying.

Without anymore thought, Kenshin drew out his sword. "Do you people not think that it is slightly inappropriate for you two harass a poor weak girl like her?" He pushed his chin up confidently, not at all intimated by the size of the men, and the deadly weapons at their belts.

The largest man from the group turned away from the circled girl, and looked at him right in the eye, dangerously, attempting to intimidate Kenshin. "Trying to be a heroic to impress the girl here aren't we?" He sneered, and all the others turned their heads around to look at the intruder, including Kaoru, who stretched her neck to the side to see who her savior was, and her eyes widened immediately at the glimpse of the familiar red hair. 

The men, deceived by the young lad's appearance, snickered. "Go home and get your daddy to teach you to respect warriors first before trying to be one." Another added, finding it rather humorous. 

Kenshin looked unaffected by their insults, but of course, inside he was boiling with anger; not only had they made him look like a fool, they did it in front of Kaoru, completely giving her the wrong idea that he was a pathetic, useless weakling. Well he'll show them what a real warrior is like, he'll show the girl who the true warrior was here. "I don't see where men like you get their respect." He replied, breathing n the cold air, as he prepared himself for an attack.

At seeing him draw his sword out, the other men followed his example and drew out their weapons. "You'll be sorry for this" The same man said, before charging up to Kenshin, quickly, he obviously looked very skillful by the way he held his sword. Everyone made the obvious assumption that the more mature man would win, seeing that Kenshin made no movements to dodge or defend himself at all.

Suddenly, a blur of motion disorientated the spectators, and within seconds after, blood splayed all over the cold, hard ground. At first, the thought it belonged to the red haired young lad. "Killed him in one go? Well done!" one of them men still in the bunched group called out. 

Or perhaps it was too soon for them to make a conclusion. 

For the moonlight ran across the street, lighting the scene with it's white, creamy cloak. The tall man was no where to be seen by the briefest look, and the red haired lad was covered with blood. "Where…where did he go?" The same man asked. But he quickly held his breath at the instant his gaze fell to the bloody ground. 

"Yes I did, and now, you will all follow his path." His eyes, reflected by the moonlight, were dark, amber and dangerously cold. 

"You…you" The man did not finish, for all his companions turned around and started running away, down the quiet street, leaving him all alone. But he, too, quickly followed their examples, and ran for his life too, leaving the bloody street, empty, with a lone assassin, standing with angry eyes and bloody swords. 

He looked across the corner, where he thought they left Kaoru. But she was no where to be seen. Kenshin's heart skipped a beat at the empty corner, did they take the girl with them?! 

He quickly scanned across the street, and noticed the girl, running down the other way, and immediately spotted the raven haired girl, scurrying off. How dare she! He just saved her life, and without a word of thanks, she runs away like that?!

Kenshin chased after the girl, and caught up with her soon after the run started. "Just where the hell do you think you are going?" He pulled Kaoru's shoulder backwards, to him, and yanked her to the wall aggressively. 

He heard the girl wince at his forceful grip, and immediately let go of his grip, and leaned, with an arm against the wall, blocking her from escape. 

Kaoru gulped fearfully, and remained silent, she did not know what to say, what to do. In fact, she was still trembling over what she saw. Every single bit of it. The men, the blades, the blood…

As if reading her mind, Kenshin gripped her hand, a little too tightly, wanting to reassure her that she had nothing to be afraid of. "I just saved your life, where is your gratitude?"

Kaoru stared up at his golden eyes. "I have no gratitude for murderers" She spat back. 

…. Again my ideas run out, MORE IDEA SUPPLY PLEASE dammit I'm like the worst writer ever, I don't got my ideas planned, I don't write in good prose, god dammit, I should have written in narrative form, d'be so much easier…T.T

* * *AN: sorry that was like REEALLY short, and sorry for the delay**. updates will be excruciatingly slow for the next month** cos I have do courseworks *very important* and I got 40% for my math test *cries* need to catch up on it for a bit) PLUS I have two stories to write..pfft


	5. Chapter 5

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Corrupter Innocence: Chapter 5

by white seraph

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**Important note: **

I know this is an alternate timeline fic, and all the character's ages are like…fuct, lemme just make a note here.

Kenshin/Battousai: 19, going through (weather he knows it or no) his final stage of his hitokiri life.

Kaoru: 17 (with a mysterious past that I have yet to make up about)

Enishi: 20 (deals with the black market, sorta like a triad leader of some sort)

Tomoe: 24 (mature geisha)..not sure if I would want to develop a little K/T from there as someone mentioned…

Who else of importance have I not mentioned?

Anyway, back to the story…

_Kaoru stared up at his golden eyes. "I have no gratitude for murderers" She spat back._

Kenshin's grip on her hand weakened for a brief moment, but quickly strengthened again. He would never let the girl know how the words stung his heart, how it hurt him. Instead, he resumed back to his confident self "Then I suppose you would rather have the men rape you, than me come to your rescue?" 

"It is hypocritical of you to save me from those men, since you yourself are not any better." Kaoru replied in the polite, eloquent way a geisha was trained to speak like, which was rather paradoxical, as she saw no reason as to why he should treat this man the same way as her other well respected customers. 

As the words came out, Kenshin finally came to realization, how right the girl was. He wasn't any better, in fact, those men were probably far better off, at least their hands were probably still clean from the stains of blood, from the guilt of murder. Kenshin's gaze dropped, as the cynical thoughts rolled through his mind. This girl, this perfect angel of innocence was so pure, so ignorant, and he was, here, about to ruin her everything, to pollute her innocent soul with his tainted one already. 

As his own thoughts occupied Kenshin's attention, Kaoru seemed to be going through another sort of revelation. Pieces of fragmented information started to form, as Kaoru recalled how Mama Okina used to tell her stories about the dangers of the outside world, people were killing each other over power, and there was news that a new deadly assassin who was as heartless as a demon, called "battousai" has appeared on the outskirts of Kyoto. It was more than half a year ago, but Kaoru could still visualize the old lady's soft voice, telling her about the man's distinguishing red hair, and cold yellow eyes with a scar on the left of his cheek. 

_"The man was said to have hair with the colour of red flames from hell, and eyes, as cold and yellow as the moon. If you ever see customers with those features, remember you must report it to me." _Those were her words, the words Kaoru took so lightly. 

But now, as it all came back to her, Kaoru's face quite impassively reflected the immense fear she was feeling, with eyebrows furrowed, and lips pursed tight. He just killed a man, maybe he wasn't satistfied, and wanted to kill her too! At that thought, Kaoru tried to extricate her small cold hand from his rough calloused one to escape.

Clearly, her thoughts were blatant when facing Kenshin, but he did not understand, did not know the origin of her fear, and only made an assumption. "The rest of the road home is indeed dangerous, I suppose you would not want to journey home yourself." His voice was much more gentle than before, and there wasn't one bit of aggressiveness in it anymore. The fact that she was too good for him, too farfetched for him did not dampen his feelings or desires for her, unfortunately or not, but it did bring him to understand that no matter how he felt, it was just wrong and sinful to break this beautiful, fragile creature just for the sake of his own good. 

However, Kaoru's reply really caught Kenshin off guard. "You…you're going to kill me, aren't you?" She choked as fearful tears started rolling down her cheek. Truly taken aback, Kenshin never expected this question, coming from her. It was ironic that for the first time, he felt the genuine need to protect a girl from the dangers of the world around, the danger of him, yet she utterly misunderstands his goodwill.

"No" He replied firmly, then bringing his hands up, Kenshin and cupped Kaoru's face gently. "I can't afford to hurt you." He breathed close to her. "Not ever"

"The words of a hitokiri has no value because they are all lies." Kaoru didn't know why she dared challenge him, but there, she did it, and with no regrets, since there was no escape anyway.

Of course, she had assumed, all the way, the worst of the worst to happen, and was quite surprised, when she heard his reply. 

"I will not deny that I am an assassin because I do not lie." He removed his hands from her face "There is nothing I can do to prove to you that I genuinely meant it when I said I could not afford to hurt you, but to let you go on the hope that you will encounter no more danger on your journey home." With that, he stepped backwards, away from the walls. 

Kaoru was relieved, and quickly took her chance before he would change his mind. "Good night then." She bowed to him, and quickly scurried off down the cold, dark street. 

* * * * * * 

A week has passed after the incident. Kenshin's feelings for the girl was still unsettled, it was getting rather frustrating, like he was unable to solve an enigma, unable to untangle the knot of thoughts and feelings. 

Ikumatsu was the only person who came by his room often to relieve him from his boredom, and according to her experience, she put the situation nicely in an analogy. Kenshin was now, like a little boy, craving for a sweet in a glass jar on the very top of the shelf, he wants to eat the sweet, but don't want to break the jar. 

Kenshin personally did not like the way she put it, making Kaoru like some disposable sweet of some sort, and it somehow didn't seem right, there was something missing, but simply could not tap on to it. 

But all these thoughts and muses were pushed aside when Katsura returned the following morning, with new recruits for the group. They were mainly spies and assisting assassins, all of which ranked below Kenshin, and as an old member, he ought to teach them the rules within the group, and set good examples for them. 

[sorry writer's block…err think I'll skip this bit] 

Tomoe briefly glanced at the side of the stage, and saw her brother, busying himself in a conversation with Kaoru, and smiled, genuinely happy that he had finally set his eyes one a decent girl like her. Ever since their parents died during the early Bakumatsu, the poor lad was always very introverted, and cold to the rest of the world, and it pained her heart deeply to learn that he had hooked himself up with the leaders of the black market behind the allies, because she knew, his lonely, wounded heart was the drive that pushed him to the black corners of life. 

Actually, she had never seen Enishi so eager to talk and befriend another, other than herself, and the attraction between them was blatant. She sighed and turned her attention back to the stage, Tomoe only hoped that her brother's attraction for the girl would be genuine this time, unlike the past few times, because Kaoru simply, wasn't like the others, she was nice, friendly and a wonderful person and she'd really love to see her with her brother.

Enishi took Kaoru's hand, and took her to the make up room, where they got some tea and Kaoru took a break from the dances. It couldn't any more plain, anymore obvious that he was pursing her, never failing to make an appearance at the rehearsal hall when Kaoru or his sister was performing, never missing the chance to talk to Kaoru. 

Kaoru, being the innocent, naïve, ignorant girl she is, had no idea who this guy really is, all she saw, was his kindness, friendliness, and humor, all she knew was that this guy is Tomoe's brother, and deals with businesses in China, or did she know how dangerous it was t hang out with this man….or at last before.

At the very beginning Enishi did intend to toy around with this innocent, naïve looking girl and find some fun playing around with her before he got tired. Just by the looking at her ignorant, confused little face, Enishi knew, from the first time his sister introduced the girl to him, that she'd be a good catch.

But somehow, things weren't going the way he intended, the girl, apparently, was not as easy to get as it seemed, and although he had managed, quite successfully form a friendship with her, whenever Enishi tried to move on with their relationship, it was as if there was an invisible wall that forbade him from entering.  But somehow, he did not want to give up, just yet.

Maybe he could talk to the mother of her house later. 

* * * * * *

Kenshin tied the sheath of his sword down to his waist. The sky was getting dark, and the time for him to attack was approaching, nearer and nearer. The reason why he did not want to take part in this particular mission was because the victim is located in the geisha's district, and he did not want himself to be seen by Kaoru or any of her acquaintances. Unfortunately, his role was crucial, and there was no way he could withdraw himself from any mission of this kind, there was no ay he could tell Katsura the true reason why he did not want to take part either. 

"It's time to go." Iizuka said as the others beckoned him to join them at the main gate. 

Kenshin jogged up to them, and the mission began. There were only five men going along this time, since the man they needed to pull down tonight was not some dangerous person of somekind, he was just a normal business man who possessed a little too much information for anyone's good. "Where is the he?" He asked one of the men from behind, who was one of the new spies. 

"The Blue House" Then he added "turn left, to the 17th district." 

Kenshin froze as they turned around the corner. It was the rehearsal hall, right down at the very end of this street, and Kenshin immediately recognized its large, brown roof.

"Himura!" Iizuka called from behind. "What's wrong?" 

Kenshin tore his eyes away from the building, and looked at the man. "No, nothing." He nodded, as if reassuring himself. "Lets get going, there's not much time." With that, he took the lead and ran down the street, and across to the other side.

"Himura, it's that one the one with a chimney." The spy said, when he finally catched up with the hitokiri. He had thought himself one of the quickest of the spies already, but when working with this dangerous assassin, he was no where as energetic, and quick as him. 

They ran up to the gates of the tea house, that seemed busy with guests and geishas, and at that, Kenshin was rather reluctant in entering, for he didn't know who would be in there. 

"Wow, are you sure this is the right place?" Iizuka asked the spy. The group always tried to locate ad kill their victims when they were with the fewest people, since they did not want an innocent witnesses to be killed as well. 

Despite Iizuka's doubt, the spy seemed to know what he was doing. "Do not be decived by the lights. This is not a tea house. At least no after the cunning man bought it and used it as his new hiding place." He explained to the rest of the group. 

At that, Kenshin sighed, with relief. "Alright, so what are we waiting for?" He kicked open the door, and went into the house, with the rest following behind him. 

Sure enough, the house was deserted, and was as empty as it did not look. They all dispersed around the house, looking for the man as if playing hide and seek. 

"I've found him!" Kenhin heard one of the spies call loudly from the ground floor, and immediately dropped the things he was scrambling through, and ran down to meet the caught man. 

The man was indeed horrified, when the hitokiri appeared from the shadows of the staircase, the distinctive looking assassin was indeed, famed or his flaming red hair, and crossed scar on his cheek. "P…Please spare me my life!" He sputtered with fear as Battousai walked step by step neared to him. But he was unable to escape, not when two men had him pinned on the floor like that. 

His pleas were futile, despite the effort, and before he could say anymore, the painful feeling of his flesh tearing apart took over. And then another slash, then another and another. . [I've never experienced death so I wouldn't know.]

Blood splayed all over the body, the man finally stopped struggling. "He's dead." Iizka bent to the dead man's nose  and felt no warmth. 

"If only he did not attempt to struggle, then he'd have had a much nicer death." Kenshin said coldly as he wiped the blood off his sword with the dead man's clothes.

But he immediately stopped when he heard a feminine gasp from the corridor. All five men shot a look at the owner of the voice. It was the geisha whom Kenshin immediately recognized as the beautiful, helpful one he talked to at the dance rehearsal the other day, and was also a friend of Ikumatsu's. 

Kenshin's eyes widened when another figure appeared from the hallway, "What's wrong, Tomoe?" The familiar voice asked before she came to light and Kenshin met her breathtaking sapphire eyes.

**A/N: oh crrappp, I left myself in this mess…how am I going to fix this up now..grrr pfft…erm…erm…ideas anyway? Lol don't I just ask for ideas for every chapter I write? -_-..actually would you guys prefer Enishi truly falling for Kaoru, or ave him as a tool to make kenshin jealous?**


	6. Chapter 6

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Corrupter Innocence: Chapter 6

by white seraph

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Kaoru gasped as the bloody pools revealed before her. 

But as if she was not there, the group continued to converse, with no due respect to them at all. "How are we to deal with them, they saw everything?" one of the men, donned with black asked allusively. 

"Only one type of people won't talk about things they see." Another man with a long face and mustache said. "Dead people." He added. 

The girls' eyes widened with apprehension as their destiny was revealed. They were going to kill them now, right here. 

But Kaoru were no airhead, despite her appearance. If it meat that they were to die anyway, then, no matter how small the chance was, they would be better of making an attempt to escape than actually staying here for judgment time. 

Without another thought, Kaoru, without warning, grabbed Tomoe's hand and dragged her down the corridor, toward the door, before the hitokiri [hm I was wondering if I should call him battousai for no, since he is.. "battousai" to every in the scene] could even open his mouth to tell Iizuka that he would not kill the two girls.

The girls' sudden escape was indeed surprising, for none of them ever expected these geishas to have the courage or intelligence to run for their own lives after witnessing such a bloody scene, and being told they were to be killed. 

Battousai smiled inwardly to himself, as he quickly made a run after them with the other men following behind closely. Kaoru's actions have once again proven him right about the girl. She was different, although it wouldn't seem like it just by looking at her appearance; it was obvious through her actions, that she possessed a courage and intelligence that others lacked. Whilst the other girl was trembling with fear, she had remained calm, and actually thought of escape than accept fate. 

But he quickly shook these thoughts out of his mind. It wasn't time to think about this, the girls are still out there, and he had to concentrate to see in the dark. 

"Where those lil' bitches go?" Iizukai caught up with the hitokiri. They scanned across the garden outside the mansion, the man squinted his eyes, trying to look through the blanket of darkness, and sure enough, after patiently examining every corner of the garden, he finally spot a moving figure behind the dark, shadowy bushes. 

"Himu-" But at a blink, the young lad was gone before he could finish. 

The moment he had spotted them, Battousai quickly, but quietly, flew to tree that hid the girls. 

"H..Hurry!" Kaoru hissed quietly, but urgently as she impatiently watched her friend, Tomoe, squeeze through the small hole between the walls, and it seemed to be taking forever.

Another voice from behind startled Kaoru, "I'm afraid no matter how she hurries; your fate will still be the same" The hitokiri revealed himself from behind the tree, a glint of mischief in his amber eyes. 

Kaoru immediately spun around and screamed when she saw the sword.

Before she knew it, the distance between them closed, and he had wrapped hi rough, callous hand around her mouth, silencing her. "Do not fear me, haven't I already told you I would not hurt you?" The hitokiri whispered. He knew keeping the girl's life was a risk, but he didn't care, yes, he admitted to himself, he was indulging his personal feelings, and letting it take  over his duty. But good lord, if only he could look into the girl's innocent eyes, and raise his sword to slash her perfect body.

He was about to say something more, but his team mates intruded. "Himura, where's the other one?" Iizuka asked. 

Battousai looked at Kaoru, who shook her head vigorously, unable to speak with her jaw gripped firmly, all she could do was give him a pleading stare, begging him not to betray her friend to his team mates. 

The redhead closed his eyes, and tore his gaze away from his captive. He already kept her alive against the rules of the ishinshishi (?), and he simply couldn't afford to abandon his job yet again. "She crawled through the hole." He glanced at the small hole. "She shouldn't be far." He paused, as if inwardly making decision. "You all go search for her, I can take care of this one myself." 

"What? Are you sure?" One of the spies asked, just be sure. 

"Yes, I will meet you back in the lodge." Battousai replied.

The men looked at each other, "Alright then, lets go." Iizuka said, as took the lead, jumping over the grey bricks of wall. 

After he men had all left, Kaoru was finally released. "You…you could hearted freak!" She cried, jumping away from him. "No wonder they all call you the cold hearted man slayer, Battousai" She practically spat his name out with disgust. 

Kenshin narrowed his eyes, not liking the feeling of her calling him Battousai. It was only a name used for those who are not acquainted with him, or enemies, and despite the truth her in her words, he did not like to hear it from her, did not like the way she thought of him. Unable to control the anger, he clutched the girl "There is a limit to how you exploit my feelings for you." He whispered dangerously, sending shivers down Kaoru's spine. "don't forget that I can always take my words back." 

Kaoru took a deep breath. "Then by all means, do take your meaningless words back." she pushed her head up, staring into his eyes, resolute. "I don't need them. I don't _want_ them." 

Now, this really shocked the young man, her words came out, strong and penetrating, shattering his ego and arrogance. He couldn't possible let the girl win, so drawing his sword out, he pushed the blade to Kaoru's neck. 

At that, she gasped, not out of fear as the hitokiri thought, but of surprise. "You speak like a brave heroine, but when it becomes reality, you whimper like a weakling?" He asked mockingly, enjoying the humiliation on her face. 

"If your assumptions were deduced from my expression, then I'm afraid you are rather lacking in comprehending facial expressions, as a hitokiri." Kaoru's voice was smooth, solid, and resolute. At the very beginning, she already well prepared for death, and it was a miracle that she was sill alive and kicking right now. "If you wish to kill me, then do it quickly, quit the contemplation and act like what you really are, battousai." 

"I don't think you should deserve a quick death." He gripped her chin, and gave the girl a sardonic look. "I think I will keep you for myself for the time being, and until I am tired of you, I will sell you to a whorehouse. How does that sound?" He had no idea what he was saying, and Kenshin knew how selfish of himself he was. He had once thought of giving the girl up, but now that she was just within hand reach, he couldn't resist, couldn't help but allow his own desires to take over. 

Scooping the girl up, Kenshin tossed her over his shoulder, despite her kicks and hits. "Let me go!!" She cried out, punching his back with al her might. 

There was no response from him, so she tried again. "You are despicable."

"I know" Came the response. 

"I hate you." Kaoru gritted her teach, feeling her anger boiling.

But, he continued to toy with her. "Really?" He asked, as if her words were meaningless. 

"Yes. I could not hate you more, if hatred were my bones" She replied, voice seething with anger and hatred. 

At that, Kenshin remained silent, and thank the lord she couldn't see his face, his hurt expression. Being an assassin, Kenshin was always prepared to hear these words from the very beginning, he had expected himself to have many enemies. But he couldn't dismiss this girl's words like all the others he had; he couldn't deny the hurt he felt. 

It was already well past midnight when they returned, and it wasn't until Kenhin put  her down that he realized why it was so quiet; The girl was asleep. He gently laid her by his bed, and smoothened her hair. If there was anything he wanted, it would be the power to erase away her hatred for him…

That was the last thing in his mind before he, too, drifted to sleep on the window sill.

* * * * * *

Sunlight shone through, but it wasn't until he heard someone call his name that Kenshin woke. "Himura!"  A man slid the door open without permission. He was shocked to see a strange, mysterious girl who laid on the futon, stirring. "Who's this lovely…-

"Shh!" Kensin hissed, giving the intruder a death glare. "What is it?" He asked impatiently. He man had his eyes glued to Kaoru's sleeping form, as if she was a piece of fresh, juicy meat, a for hell would Kenshi want him to notice her!

"K…Katsura is holding a morning meeting" The man trembled fearfully. "He wants to you make an appereance…."

Kenshin rolled his eyes, looking reluctant to go. "Alright, I'll be down there in a moment." He said, and closed the wooden door right in front of the man's face. 

Kaoru opened her eye hazily, as last night' happenings rolled across her mind. So this is their lodge…she lazily looked up, and saw the redhead stare at her.

Kenshin smiled evilly as he watched the panicking girl, who sat, in a crawling position on the futon, not realizing what she was exposing in front of him; her kimono had loosened during her sleep, revealing her bare shoulders, her long nape, and the curves of those round plump breasts….

"What are you staring at?" Kaoru snapped, she looked at herself, and answered her own question. Face blushing pink with embarrassment, she pulled the kimono up. 

"I have to go to an urgent meeting right now, breakfast is usually served downstairs, feel free to walk around, but don't think you can escape, all the gates are locked." With that, Kenshin slid the door shut. The lodge was quite small, and besides those who work for the ishinshishi, and nobody will dare to mess here will dare to mess around with the girl.

Kenshin hurriedly went to the washroom to cleanse and refresh himself before making an appearance. 

Katsura didn't seem to happy. "Himura, I hear you brought a rl back with you yesterday night, care to explain?" 

Kenshin took his seat, and glanced at all the others who also took part in the meeting. "She witnessed the assassination, and we simply could not left here there to spread rumour." He replied "and Iizuka and the rest should have dealt wit the other one." Kenshin saw Iizuka nod. 

"Yes, Katsura, we have eliminated the other one already." Iizuka backed Kenshin up.

The boss seemed content with Iizuka. "I see, but Himura, why did you not follow Iizuka' example and kill the girl right there?" 

"It doesn't matter how we manage with the witnesses, as long as we silence them, and I have decided to take her with me," Kenshin replied, like a stubborn child.

Katsura shooked his head. "I don't understand you, bringing the girl along not only will burden us it will also do us worse if she escapes, she will know of our hideout too."

"What's done is done, just leave it be." Kenshin sighed. "There won't be a next time, I promise."  Of course there won't be a next time, because Kenshin was sure he would never come across another like Kaoru ever again. 

TBC..

Sorry I kinda cut the scene off half way, their conversation continues next time!

Omg when I was doing a spelling check, battousai was boathouse, hitokiri was hooker [LOL]…erm and kenshin was Kenton...dunno what that is!  Ah well actually I'm not sure when I should call kenshin battousai or kenshin…it's so confusing . ah well till then!


End file.
